Arkansas Highway 8: Princeton to Mt Olive

Take a scenic ride through the quiet backroads of south-central Arkansas as we follow Arkansas Highway 8 from Princeton to Mt. Olive. This 17-mile journey rolls gently westward through the pine-studded hills and farmland of Dallas and Clark counties, bridging the rural heartbeat of Arkansas with its scenic and cultural simplicity. Though not widely traveled, this stretch of Highway 8 offers a rewarding glimpse into a part of the state where life still moves to the rhythm of the land.

We begin in the unincorporated community of Princeton, once the seat of Dallas County before economic shifts and changing transportation routes redirected prosperity elsewhere. From its heyday in the 1800s, little remains of the bustling past—just a scattering of homes and farms nestled among hardwood groves and open fields. Heading west, the two-lane road arcs gently through a patchwork of pine plantations and pastures, occasionally hemmed in by thick woods. This part of the drive evokes a kind of rural timelessness, where church steeples and old mailboxes seem to outnumber people.

As we cruise farther west, the terrain subtly undulates, with shallow ridges and small creeks—tributaries of the Ouachita River basin—cutting across our path. We pass a handful of side roads leading to deer camps, family farms, and distant hunting leases. There’s a sleepy stillness in the air, broken only by the occasional sight of a pickup truck kicking up dust from a gravel drive. These are the kinds of places you won’t find in guidebooks but linger in memory for their peacefulness and authenticity.

Our short but meaningful drive ends at Mt. Olive, a small, unincorporated community where Arkansas Highway 8 meets the north-south flow of Highway 7. There’s no town square here—just a rural junction framed by pines and pastureland. From this point, turning north on Highway 7 brings you toward the college town of Arkadelphia and the recreational waters of DeGray Lake. Heading south, the road meanders deeper into the Ouachitas toward Fordyce. Though unassuming, Mt. Olive quietly serves as a transition point between the secluded stillness of backwoods Arkansas and the broader networks of travel beyond. This modest route may be short on notoriety, but it offers a serene passage through one of the state’s most character-rich corners.